Rail bond



c, A. PARKER.

RAIL BOND.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. 1921.

. 1,430,110. Patentedsept. '26, 1922 Patented Sept., 2%, i922.

CHARLES A. PARKER, 0F HAUGAN, MONTANA, ASSGNOR OF ONE-HALF TKO 4.ALBER'I T,

A FARMER, 0F SALTESE, MONTANA.

RAID BOND;

Application led May 9,

To all whom it may con cem.

Be it known that l, Cirfinnns A. Pannen, a citizen of the United States, residing at Haugan, in the county of Mineral and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Bonds, of which the following is a speciiication.

My present invention relates to improve-k ments in rail bonds or electrical conductors for use in railways and similar structures, independent of the constructionof the rails of the way or track, for electrically Aconnecting contiguous rails together in order th-at they may act as conductors of electricity in propulsion systems,control systems, or other analogous uses. The primary object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which will be reliable and serve at all times for electrically connecting the rail ends and not -be subject to derangement due the usual contraction and expansion of the rails of railways. The device is used at the joint, and adapted to be encased' by the splice Aor joint plates of the rails in conjunction with the.

rail heads, as a' protection or shield from weather conditions as ywell as from tampering therewith or from danger of destructionA by wheels ofthe passing equipment should the wheels leave the track.

`Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts of a device of the socket and plug type in which the parts are combined and arranged according to the best mode I have thus far devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention in which- Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the rail joint of a railway showing the splice bars or joint plates, and showing in section one terminal of the rail bond of my invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the contiguous rail webs and splice bars and through the members of my rail bond.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the conductors of the bond, showing also a plug and one of the washers used therewith.

In order to clearly indicate the assembly l1921. Serial No. 468,107.

the usual bolts being employed for secury ing the splice bars or plates and rails,

The rail bond for electrically connecting the contiguous ends of the rails as land 1b includes a pair of duplicate conductors indicated as a whole by the numerals 5 vand 6, and as these parts are of kidentical con-y struction, a detail description of one will suflice for both.

A s best seen in Figure 3 each conductor of the bond comprises abifurcated or forked blade 7 of copper or other material of goed conductivity, which is flattened andrectan-` guilar in shape,and. provided with an annular? head 8 from which projects a tubular boss or sleeve 9, the opening in the sleeve land head being tapered to formy a socket 10. The adjoining rails near their ends, are each provided wit-h an` opening 11 extending transversely through the webs toaccem-modate fthe hollow boss 9, and it willfbe ap parent that the head of the blade lies in close contact with thesid'eface of the webthzrougli whichy the boss projects. The entire conductor incl-udingthe blade r7 head 8 and boss 9 are preferably of copper and the cylindrical boss fits snugly within the opening 11 in the rail web. To insure a tight iitof the boss in its perforated web I employ` a tapered plug 12, which may be provided with a spiral rib 13, and after the boss has been inserted in position in the web, this plug is driven by hammer blows into the socket 10 of the boss to expand the boss radially and insure a tight fit of the boss in the web of the rail. The spiral web 18 in|- creases the frictional contact between the plug and socket member, aids in expanding the material of the boss and insures a locked plug against displacement or backing out from the socket of the boss. A pair of copper washers as 11i and 15 are also used in connection with the rail bond as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In assembling the parts the bond is applied to the rail ends before the splice bars are placed in position, a boss being entered throughthe openings in the rail webs from each side of the rail, with the respective blades 7 ext-ending toward the opposite boss and with the heads 8 flush againstvthe face of the rails. The washers lt are now applied, and slipped over the slightly projecting end of the boss of each conductor, after which the blades are brought up into alined horizontal position at the sides of the rail web. The tapered pins or plugs 12 are now entered in their respective sockets from opposite sides of the rail, passing through the bifurcated blades and washers 14, and then driven into place in the tubular bosses or sockets provided therefor, after which the outer spring coil washers l5 are slipped over the ends of the plugs to bear against the forked ends of the blades 7;

The splice bars are now applied to the rail ends and tightened and secured in place by the bolts i as usual with the result that the members of the bond at both sides of the rail webs are clamped into rigid, fixed position with the sockets or bosses, the heads, and washers let all in close electrical contact with the rail webs as well as splice bars, to insure a perfect electrical connection between the contiguous rails, rlhe bond is thus encased between the splice bars or plates at the sides of the rail, below the rail head la and above the rail base, with the blades 7 bridging the space between the rail ends.

The washers 15 are preferably of resilient material, in order that when lateral pressure is applied by tightening the bolts 4 a close and effective contact is made, not only with the rail webs, but also with the splice bars or angle plates 2 and 3. These washers may be of brass, and are slipped over the end of the plug in contact with the copper washer l5 which is disposed on the plug at the opposite side of the bifurcated contact blade as shown. rlhe spiral rib on the plug has a tendency to push the copper of the bushing or boss in a radial direction, under the action of hammer blows on the steel plug, thus insuring a close engagement between the boss and rail web, and it will be apparent that the complete bond element is thus iirmly and securely held in the rail webs between the splice bars.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The combination with the contiguous perforated rail webs, of a pair of conductors each having a socket member, an expanding plug driven in each member and having one end projecting through said member, and a conductor blade integral with each of said members co-acting with the plug of the other member.

2. The combination with the contiguous perforated rail webs, of a pair of conductors each having Ya head and a socket member and a bladeintegral with said head, and expanding plugs driven in said socket members and passing through the free ends of said blades, as described.

3. The combination with the contiguous perforated rail webs, of a pair of conductors each having a forked blade, a head and a boss projecting through the respective webs, a tapered plug driven in each boss and through a forked bla-de, washers on said plugs in contact with said bosses, splice bars bearing against said washers and heads, and bolts for securing said bars.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES A. PARKER. 

